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Xie Mingtang looked at Xie Zhan and solemnly said, “Son, our Xie family really needs to take action this time.” Since this matter can no longer be dealt with openly, we have no choice but to make moves behind the scenes.
“There’s no wall in this world that doesn’t have cracks. The news of Zhao Bin’s misfortune will inevitably spread. Zhao Wenkuan is your father-in-law, and now he’s come to us for help. Zhao Bin is your brother-in-law, and he has met such a tragic end. Regardless of the rights and wrongs, both emotionally and logically, we can’t just stand by. Otherwise, not only will Zhao Wenkuan feel disheartened, but what will our allies and those who depend on our Xie family think of us?” The Empress Dowager’s decree has already sealed this marriage, and it cannot be changed. Since we’ve already become in-laws with the Zhao family, we must show the proper attitude.
Xie Zhan naturally understood this reasoning.
In the end, Xie Zhan took out a small booklet and solemnly handed it to Xie Mingtang.
Xie Mingtang was initially puzzled when he took the booklet, but as he flipped through it, his expression grew increasingly serious. The booklet documented the life and major events of Lu Desheng, with a particular focus on his tenure at the Censorate. It provided a detailed analysis of the words and actions he used in memorials to topple his political enemies, essentially offering a deep interpretation of Lu Desheng’s character.
“Good, good, good! With this booklet, the people we’ve cultivated can quickly appear before the emperor, and then replace Lu Desheng.” Xie Mingtang was genuinely surprised; he hadn’t expected his son to be so well-prepared.
At that moment, neither Xie Zhan nor his father could have foreseen that this booklet would eventually, after several years, end up in Lu Songli’s hands. As the future leader in literature and ethics, Xie Zhan’s writing skills were unparalleled, with few able to match him. By the age of seventeen, he had already achieved significant success in this area. At that time, Lu Songli was quite fond of the booklet, and later, she had her subordinates organize it into a personal biography of her father. She presented it to him on his birthday, bringing Lu Desheng great joy. Eventually, a discerning businessman discovered this biography and approached Lu Desheng himself, offering to have it printed.
The biography was privately collected by many people and was passed down through generations. Alongside the fame of Lu Desheng, the subject of the biography, Xie Zhan, the author, also became well-known. Xie Zhan never expected to gain such renown in such a unique way.
Meanwhile, Lu Songli, after dinner, mentioned the matter of Zhao Bin to her parents.
This revelation shocked both Lu Desheng and his wife, Madam Jiang. Neither of them had anticipated that Zhao Bin would be so insidious as to target their daughter at this critical moment. Hearing that their daughter had narrowly escaped danger, the couple nearly had their hearts stop from the fright.
Now, seeing their daughter safe and sound, they realized it had been a false alarm.
Lu Desheng’s mouth twitched. His daughter had returned home in the evening, and it was already around the hour of You (between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM) after dinner—nearly two hours had passed before she mentioned the incident to them. And the way she brought it up was so casual, as if she was just giving them a heads-up. She really had nerves of steel! If it had been any other young girl, she would have likely rushed to her parents to confide in them the moment she got home.
“You’re far too fearless. I wonder who you take after,” Madam Jiang remarked.
“Who else? I must take after my father.”
Lu Desheng subconsciously puffed out his chest, only to shrink back when his wife shot him a glare.
Madam Jiang, exasperated, said, “Indeed, you two are a pair of reckless father and daughter!”
Lu Desheng gave his daughter a plaintive look. If he still didn’t realize that his daughter was pulling him into the situation with her, then all his years in the court had been for nothing.
Lu Songli sneakily clasped her hands together in a gesture of supplication, as if silently pleading for forgiveness.
What could Lu Desheng do? He could only let it slide and not hold it against her.
Taking advantage of the moment when her mother wasn’t paying attention, Lu Songli stepped forward and started massaging her father’s shoulders with a fawning expression.
Lu Desheng felt comforted and greatly enjoyed this little gesture.
Seeing this, Madam Jiang remarked with a hint of jealousy, “So you’re only giving your father a shoulder massage?”
Lu Songli quickly replied, “Of course not, dear Mother! I’ll only massage Father’s shoulders for fifteen minutes, and the rest of the time is all yours—I’ll keep massaging until you’re completely relaxed.” She expertly balanced the situation, playing the role of a peacemaker.
“Cheeky!” Madam Jiang said with a playful smile.
“Daughter, you’re playing a big game here.” When it came to this matter, Lu Desheng was both delighted and proud. His daughter was really impressive! He wasn’t bragging; if it were an ordinary woman in that situation, she would probably have suffered and wouldn’t have been able to fight back.
If it wasn’t for his daughter’s capabilities, they would have been deceived by Zhao Bin, and their daughter would have been mistreated. As parents, they would have regretted it deeply. The current situation is much better. It’s always better for others to suffer than for oneself. It’s just a safety net. Every parent shields their children from harm or cleans up their messes. Otherwise, how could the saying “the young ones fight while the old ones suffer” exist?
On the other hand, Madam Jiang was a bit worried about the Zhao family. After all, with her daughter’s actions, it was equivalent to ruining Zhao Wenkuan, an adult son with a promising future. This loss was too significant for the Zhao family. Empathizing with others, if one of her two sons were ruined, she would go crazy.
“Don’t worry, the Zhao family wouldn’t dare to take this to the emperor.”
As for causing trouble in private? Would she be afraid? Even if she was, it wouldn’t matter. Zhao Bin’s moral compass is clearly off, and he bullies others without restraint. Unless their Lu family obediently falls into his trap, doesn’t resist, and surrenders, only then would Zhao Bin be satisfied. No, if their Lu family were truly so weak and bullied by them to this extent, the Zhao family would only intensify their oppression, or even eradicate them.
Therefore, this problem had no solution from the beginning. If you don’t submit, fight. If they dare to touch you, fight. Fight until they yield. If they don’t yield, the only option is to kill them. She could almost predict the development of the situation, so she took the opportunity to disable the Zhao family’s maneuverability. No problem there.
Lu Songli added slowly, “Even if the Zhao family dares to bring this to the emperor, I’m not afraid. I have witnesses. Zhao Bin made the first move, so any retaliation from me is justified, right? In theory, at most, my retaliation was a bit excessive, which in modern terms would be considered excessive self-defense. For us, the worst we’ll get is a scolding. After all, our family members have thick skin, so it won’t hurt us.”
Lu Desheng agreed with his daughter’s viewpoint. As a man, he tried to put himself in Zhao Bin’s shoes… No, just the thought of that image made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t put himself in that position, definitely not. In conclusion, if he were Zhao Bin, he wouldn’t want his experience to be made public, especially in a situation where he couldn’t guarantee a victory against his daughter.
However, Lu Desheng and Lu Songli exchanged a glance, knowing that the Zhao family would seek revenge, that was unquestionable.
The father and daughter were very self-aware. With one old and one young, they had severely offended the Zhao family, so the Zhao family would undoubtedly retaliate with full force. They needed to be prepared.
“I’ll be busy from now on,” Lu Desheng said to his wife. “To avoid disturbing you, should I sleep in the study for a while?”
They were getting older, naturally needing less sleep, and it was winter. Since he woke up early, his wife probably wouldn’t need to sleep either.
But he had to do this. They didn’t know what tricks the Xie family and Zhao family might have up their sleeves, but he was the pillar of the Lu family, and his biggest support was Emperor Kang Cheng. As long as Emperor Kang Cheng stood by his side, he wouldn’t fall, and if he didn’t fall, the Lu family would thrive.
Lu Songli agreed with her father’s decision.
“Don’t go to the study, just sleep honestly in the room,” Madam Jiang disagreed. After many years of marriage, except for when she was in confinement, they rarely slept in separate rooms. As for his concern about disturbing her, she didn’t mind. If she felt sleepy during the day, she could always catch up on sleep.
Seeing the two elders discussing this issue, Lu Songli quietly slipped away.